Weight loss support with a spiritual element. I will keep you posted on my journey in the hopes that you will join me in becoming the person God wants you to be. Don't worry about being religious. Come as you are.

Sunday, October 23, 2011

Slogan/Solution?

***Our major obligation is not to mistake slogans for solutions. ~Edward R. Murrow

Tomorrow is another day.Starting over tomorrow.I'm OK, You're OK.It's a new day.If it is to be, it's up to me.This is just a temporary setback.You can do it!Don't give up.It's over now.I'm not going to beat myself up over this.It's out of my system.I'm OK with it.

Have you used any of these slogans while fooling yourself that things are changing as of now and from now on there will be no more off-plan eating until the goal is reached? I have.

We need to convince ourselves that after this one last indiscretion we are staying in control. How many years have we done that? When we say we will start over tomorrow that just gives us permission to overeat for the rest of the evening. We go to bed disgusted with ourselves and resolve that tomorrow will be different because we think we will be different. How long will that lie work on us? If the overeating doesn't happen the next day again, it usually isn't very long until it does because we have our little slogan all ready to go.

Is it a solution or is it only a slogan? We need this protection for our ego. We need to feel like this is only temporary, better times are coming. Let's truly be honest with ourselves and stop trying to do the warm and fuzzy thing to ourselves and others when we comment with the intent of encouraging but are really enabling.

There are several challenges going on now and it is threatening to sign up for a challenge and then slip up. We don't want to advertise to everyone that we weren't successful the past week so we don't update the others in the challenge at all. We go into hiding. It's understandable but not acceptable. A good first step would be to finish the challenge and take our lumps if we have them coming. Just facing facts and finishing would help us get serious. There is some good leadership out there. People who expect success. They will also do their best to get the participants on the right track and keep them there. They can only do so much though. Finish your challenge if you are in one. Find a leader that suits you, sign up for their challenge, and finish the durn thing.

4 comments:

Oh my, who hasn't done the "I'm gonna really get serious tomorrow" thing and then eaten themselves silly for the rest of the evening? Then you feel just awful after stuffing yourself. Kinda weird how we do that, isn't it? There is definitely a psychological component to this overeating thing. Not an excuse, just an observation.

Getting into the sick cycle of the excuses, 'start over tomorrow's, etc... didn't happen over night to any one; I doubt it can change that quickly either. There are often deep seeded issues to the over eating, to the giving up - fear of failure (again), fear of starting over only to be made fun of (again), fear of succeeding and having to live a more outgoing life... People use their fat as a shield from the world sometimes, just as they use food for comfort. "If I stay 260 pounds, I don't have to compete with my 120 pound bombshell friend - because I truly believe I can NOT compete with her no matter what, even if by magic I weighed 120 pounds myself. Years of ridicule, being overlooked and ignored have TOLD me that I'm not worthy, no matter if I change or not - I still won't be worthy, of anything". This whole weight thing is a literal mind f*ck for SO many people. There are no easy answers, even though 'Just buckle down and do it, no matter what'; seems like the answer - it's not that easy. Most of the time, anyhow. Good post! Really got me thinking about a few things; if you can't tell by my rant! :)

April - your comment concerns me in that I sense some pretty deep emotions here. It really sounds like you have a pretty good handle on the things in your life that have contributed to your situation today. My sister, Jenny, has a comment right above yours and we both are here to help you get your head around this. There is no reason anymore for you to feel like you are not worthy. I want to suggest some spiritual ways to address this but I read some pretty salty language here and on your blog so I don't know how receptive you would be to that. My opinion is that you need to work on behaviors and your relationship with God. Whatever burdens you carry that lead you to thinking food/eating will address them will only be worsened as you probably already know.

What I typed was more of an example of how people use fat as a shield - not how 'I' use it. I never used it as that, my issues aren't with the fat itself, it's with the eating and I am making progress. I think 50 pounds down is progress, anyhow. :) The example is literally from a book, a fiction book actually. It's called Big Girl by Danielle Steel; I read it recently and some things made sense about some other people I know.